Prop arrangement for mines



A. HAARMANN PROP ARRANGEMENT FOR MINES Filed Dec. 2, 1957 Figui June 6,1961 N WN im mn VA WM M AJM United States Patent O "ice 2,987,290 PROPARRANGEMENT FOR MINES Arnold Haarmann, Hermann-Lons-Strasse 11,Dortmund-Gartenstadt, Germany Filed Dec. 2, 1957, Ser. No. 700,068 yClaims priority, application Germany Dec. 3, 1956 1 Claim. (Cl. 248-357)The present invention relates to props for mines.

In order to provide a stable support for props for mines it has alreadybeen proposed to provide such props with base plates of relatively largearea which engage the door of the mine gallery. However, such baseplates present certain disadvantages. Thus, because of their large areathe base plates prevent the location of the props as close as desired tothe mine face, and also even though the base plates have a relativelylarge area the props still tilt and fall when the mine gallery isinclined. Furthermore, it is often very diicult to shift a prop becauseof the connection between the base plate and the upwardly extended propmember itself.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a prop memberwith a base plate of relatively large area to give a stable supportthereto, while at the same time rendering it possible to locate the propmember very close to the mine face and, in fact, directly next to theconveyor which extends along the mine face.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a prop arrangementwhich will guarantee that the prop member and the base plate whichcarries the same will not tilt in a mine gallery which has an inclinedoor which is relatively steep.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a connectionbetween a prop member and a base plate located at the foot end thereofwhich will permit easier shifting of the prop arrangement in the minegallery.

With the above objects in view, the present invention includes anelongated base member which is made of a rigid material and which is ofan elongated substantially rectangular configuration. This base memberis adapted to be located on the lloor of an inclined mine gallery withone end of the base member located at a lower elevation than theopposite end thereof. The rigid base member, which may be made of anysuitable metal, for example, is provided with an upwardly directedrecess, and an elongated prop member extends upwardly from the baseplate and has a bottom foot end which extends into this recess. Thelower end of the base plate, when located on an inclined oor of a minegallery, is located sufficiently beyond the foot end of the prop memberto prevent undesirable tipping of the prop member and base plate. Ameans is located in the recess of the base plate for connecting the propmember thereto for turning movement in a plane which extends across thebase plate.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claim. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view of a mine gallery in which proparrangements according to the present invention are located;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic elevational view of an inclined mine gallery inwhich props of the invention are located;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a base plate of a prop arrangementaccording to the present invention, FIG. 3

Patented June 6, 1961 showing in section a prop member extendingupwardly from the base plate;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along line IV--IV of FIG. 3in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 3in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to FIGS 1 and 2, the mine gallery illustrated therein isinclined downwardly to the left, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, and thearrow x indicates the downwardly directed inclination of the minegallery. The wall 2 shown in FIG. l represents the mine face which isbeing worked, while the wall 1 represents the opposite side wall of themine gallery where the back-fill is located. A conveyor 3 is showndiagrammatically in FIG. l extending along the mine face 2, as isconventional.

As may be seen from the diagrammatic illustrations in FIGS. 1 and 2 aplurality of prop arrangements are located in the mine gallery andextend between the floor and roof thereof. These prop arrangements eachinclude a base plate 5 of a suitable rigid metal, for example, and a capor top plate 6 which is pressed against the roof of the mine gallery,and an elongated prop member 4 extends between the base plate 5 and thecap member 6. As is conventional, the prop member 4 is in the form of anelongated telescoped tube arrangement, for example, provided withsuitable hydraulic fluid or the like, so that it is capable of beingexpanded in order to press the cap member 6 against the roof and thebase plate 5 against the oor of the mine gallery, and, as is alsoconventional, the prop member 4 carries a suitable releasable lockingdevice for maintaining the prop member in its expanded operativecondition. The details of the prop member 4 itself are purelyconventional.

The line y-y shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 indicates the center of the baseplate 5. It will be noted from the drawings that the base plate 5 is ofan elongated rectangular configuration, and the line or plane y-y islocated midway between the ends of the elongated base plate 5. As isevident from FIGS. 1 and 2, the base plate 5 is placed in the minegallery with one of its ends located at a lower elevation than itsopposite end. Moreover, the prop member 4 may be located, as shown inthe drawings, more distant from the lower end of the base plate 5 thanthe upper end thereof, and as a result the prop arrangement 4-6 is verystable and will not tip so as to fall down the inclined mine gallery.

As may be seen from FIGS. 3-5, the base plate 5 includes an upwardlyextending rim which extends along the periphery of the base plate, sothat the base plate has a construction similar to Ithat of an open-topbox. Moreover, a plurality of ribs 8, 8a, and 8b extend transverselyacross the base plate 5, and these ribs may be integral with the baseplate or may be in the form of metal bars which are welded thereto. Theribs which extend transversely across substantially the entire width ofthe base plate 5 cooperate with the rim thereof to dene a pair ofrecesses 9. It will be noted that the left recess 9 of FIG. 5 is-located substantially midway between the ends of the base plate 5,while the right recess 9 is displaced to the right of the center of thebase plate 5, as viewed in FIG. 5. It is possible to locate the foot endof the prop member 4 in the central recess 9, where, for example, theprop arrangement is used in a substantially horizontal mine gallery.However, where the prop arrangement is used in an inclined gallery, thefoot end of the prop member 4 is placed in the right recess 9 of FIG. 5and the right end of the base plate 5 is then located at a higherelevation than the left end thereof, as viewed in FIG. 5, so as toprovide the stable arrangement referred to above.

The ribs 8, 8a, and 8b have a length which is approximately three timesthe dimension of the foot end of the prop member 4 in a directionparallel to these ribs, and the distance between the rib Sy and the.rib, 8a, on the one hand, and the rib 8a and the rib 8b, on the otherhand, is less than one and one-half times the dimension of the foot endof the prop member 4 inthe longitudinal direction of the base plate 5.Therefore, a's can be seen from- FIG. 3, the transverse ribs of therecess which receives the prop member are located quite close to thefoot end of the prop member, while the rim of the base plate at the endsof the elongated transversely extending recess is distant from the `footend of the prop member.

, As may be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5 the bottom end of the prop member 4is provided with a plate 10 to which the remainder of the prop member isconnected, and this plate 10 at its outer periphery extends beyond theremainder of the prop member to provide an outwardly directed bottomiiange. A plurality of elastic resilient deformable bodies which may bemade of rubber or a plastic having similar properties are located in therecess which receives the foot end of the prop member for iixing thelatter to the base plate 5. Thus, the drawings show elastic bodies 11and 11a located between the lfoot end of the prop member and the rim ofthe base plate 5, and a pair of elastic bodies 12 and 12a locatedbetween the ribs 8a and 8b and the prop member. These elastic bodiescompletely ll and are compressed into the space of the recess whichsurrounds the foot end of the prop member, and they overlap theoutwardly extending peripheral portion ofthe foot plate 10 of the propmember so that the elastic bodies provide a reliable connection betweenthe elongated prop member and the base plate 5. Because ofthe size ofthe recess with respect to the foot end of the prop member, the propmember can have very little and substantially no tilting movement withrespectrto the base plate in a plane which extends longitudinallythrough the base plate 5. However, because of the greater distance ofthe rim of the base plate S at the ends of the elongated recess from theprop member, there is a suticient amount of material in the elasticbodies 11 and 11a to permit the prop member 4 to turn with respect tothe base plate 5 in a plane which extends transverselyY across the same.Where tilting in one direction or the other in this plane is desired,the elastic body located at the side opposite from that toward which theprop member is to be tilted may be removed.

With the above-described structure of the invention many advantages areobtained. As was pointed out above, the possibility of the proparrangement tipping and falling down on the mine gallery is practicallyeliminated. Moreover, by making the base plates 5 of the elongatedsubstantiallyrectangular ccniiguration shown in the drawings, it ispossible to preserve the advantage of a large contact area between theprop arrangement and oor of the mine gallery while at the same timerendering it possible to locate the prop members 4 extremelyV close tothe conveyor 3. Furthermore, where the prop arrangement is clampedbetween the oor and roof of the mine gallery, the release of the proparrangement from this condition may be provided simply by pushing orpulling the base plate 5 toward the mine face 2, for example, and thepivotal connection between the prop member 4 and the base plate willpermit such movement of the base plate with respect to the prop memberwhile at the same time preventing any undesirable harm to the parts.Also, it isl possible, if desired, to disconnect the base plate and'aparece prop member from each other and to move them separately.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofprops diiering from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied inshiftable props, it s not intended to be limited to the details shown,since various modifications and structural changes may be made withoutdeparting in any way from the spirit of the present invention, Withoutfurther analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of thepresent invention that others can by applying current knowledge readilyadapt it for various applications without omitting features that, fromthe standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristicsof the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore,such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within themeaning and range of equivalence of the following claim.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A mine prop arrangement comprising in combination, an elongated rigidbase plateV of substantially rectangular configuration having a rimextending all along the periphery of said base plate and extendingupwardly therefrom so that said base plate `forms a construction similarto that of an open-top box, said base plate being made of a rigidmaterial and being adapted to be placed on an inclined door of a minegallery with one end of said base plate located at a lower elevationthan lan opposite end thereof, and said base plate having at least twoparallel ribs extending transversely across said base plate andconnected to said rim to deline an upwardly directed recess therewith,said recess being located at a substantial distance from said one end ofsaid base plate; an elongated prop member extending upwardly from saidbase plate and having a bottom foot'A end located in said recess, saidribs each having a length which is approximately three times thedimension-of said foot end of said prop member in a direction parallelto'said ribs and the distance betweenA said ribs being less than one andone-half times the dimension of said foot, end of said prop member inthe longitudinal direction of said base plate; and a plurality ofcompressible elastic bodies filling the space in said recess whichsurrounds said foot end of said prop member to connect the latter withsaid base plate while providing a pivotal support for said prop memberallowing a pivotal movement thereof in a plane extending transverselyacross the base plateV but preventing substantially any pivotal movementin a plane extending longitudinally through said base plate.

References Citedv in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,268,410 Weber .lune 4, 1918 1,742,344 Davis Jan. 7, 1930 2,474,725Clark June 28, 1949 2,532,168 Jakoubek Nov. 28, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS333,936 Great Britain Aug. 25, 1930 817,286 Germany Oct. 15, 1951857,937 Germany Dec. 4, 1952

